Introduction
The Council
underlines that the budget for 2017 should be able to respond to the
most urgent needs while continuing to play a key role in the development
and delivery of the Union's objectives and priorities.
The
unprecedented and successive crises the EU faced in 2015 in areas such
as migration and security have put the Union's budget under high
pressure, showing the need to prioritise objectives in order to
adequately react to unforeseen events. The budgetary year 2017, acting
as a halfway marker of the current programming period 2014-2020, will
likely be exposed to similar constraints and uncertainties.
The
budgetary procedure for 2017 will still take place in a context of
budget constraints in several Member States. Therefore, the Council
emphasises the need to improve the predictability of Member States'
contributions to the Union's budget. The Council, while recalling the
principle of solidarity, considers that the EU budget should seek to
boost growth, promote employment and create new jobs, as well as
enhancing effective EU cohesion and increasing competitiveness, while
maintaining budgetary discipline at all levels.
As
such, the Council considers that the right balance between fiscal
consolidation and investments to boost growth is needed. This can be
achieved especially through the prioritisation of objectives, along with
the allocation of available resources to programmes and actions that
contribute the most towards achieving these aims. The budget for 2017
should provide the necessary resources to respect commitments already
made and to implement the Union's policy priorities.
The
Council invites the Commission to present a budget in line with the
aforementioned objectives, including a focus on areas that deliver high
EU added value.
Key elements of the budget for 2017
The Council
reiterates the need for a realistic budget respecting the principle of
sound financial management. The level of both commitment and payment
appropriations should be kept under strict control and be based on real
needs. The level of payment appropriations[1]
should be adequate and reflect the payment profiles of the programmes,
including the commitments made during the previous programming period
2007-2013 and with a clear focus on the expected needs for the period
2014-2020.
The
Council emphasises that the budget for 2017 and corrective budgetary
tools shall strictly respect the relevant ceilings in accordance with
the multiannual financial framework (MFF) Regulation for the period
2014-2020[2]. Moreover, the Council
reiterates the need to leave sufficient margins under the ceilings in
order to be able to deal with unforeseen circumstances.
The
Council expects the Commission to make every effort to implement the
budget within the allocations agreed in the annual budget, including the
recourse to redeployments when appropriate. Corrective budgetary tools,
such as amending budgets, should be kept to the strict minimum and in
line with the Financial Regulation[3].
The Council invites the Commission to streamline and rationalise the
submission of draft amending budgets, thereby ensuring greater
predictability within the budget cycle. If corrective measures prove to
be necessary, the Council reaffirms its commitment to take a position on
draft amending budgets as soon as possible.
The
Council urges the Commission to deliver high-quality forecasts
concerning both revenue and expenditure in its draft budget and during
the whole budgetary process, together with timely, precise and
transparent information on the underlying assumptions and budgetary
figures. Reliable and accurate forecasts on all sources of revenue and
on past and expected implementation are crucial in order to ensure
precise implementation and to avoid over-budgeting, as well as
unjustified and excessive carry-overs. It also allows the European
Parliament and the Council to assess any possible requests for
additional appropriations or redeployment of existing resources.
An
accurate draft budget is essential to allow Member States to anticipate
the level of their contributions to the Union's budget with a high
degree of precision. In this context, the Council calls upon all actors,
and notably the Commission, to undertake appropriate measures in order
to avoid unexpected calls for additional contributions from the Member
States, especially when the impact on national budgets could be high.
The
Council believes that full transparency regarding assigned revenues is
necessary for a sound financial management of Union funds. It calls on
all institutions, agencies and other bodies to continue providing all
the relevant information promptly and on a regular basis.
The Council will continue to oversee the level of outstanding commitments (RAL)[4].
It calls on the Commission to continue to monitor the evolution of the
RAL by heading and by programme on a regular basis and to settle or
decommit them in a timely manner and in line with the relevant rules. In
preparing the draft budget, the Commission should take into account the
close relationship between commitment and payment levels, the volume of
outstanding commitments, the need to respect the MFF ceilings, the
absorption capacity and past implementation rates.
The
Council takes note of the faster than expected decreasing level of
outstanding payments[5] reported by the Commission at the end of 2015
and welcomes the phasing out of the backlog of unpaid bills from the
previous programming period, expected in 2016.
Specific issues
Comprehensive budgetary documents
The Council
recognises the progress made by the Commission during the last
budgetary cycle in terms of enhancement of the quality and timely
delivery of budgetary documents. It encourages the Commission to further
improve the content of its budgetary documents in order to make them
more transparent, simple and concise, clearly justifying the requested
appropriations, including their repercussion in terms of payment
profiles for the following years. In this context, the Council invites
the Commission to accompany any proposal modifying the agreed level of
commitment appropriations with the corresponding impact in terms of
payments over the programming period.
The
Council acknowledges the usefulness of the Commission's "Active
Monitoring and Forecast of Budget Implementation" system, with a view
to, inter alia, prevent the possible build-up of an excessive backlog.
It recalls that this reporting exercise should include regularly updated
payment forecasts based on adopted budgetary decisions and any relevant
development having an impact on the payment profiles of the programmes[6].
Thus, if adjustments are required to the level of appropriations, they
can be made in a realistic and rigorous way at the various stages of the
budgetary procedure.
The
Council welcomes the good practice of accompanying every proposal for a
transfer of appropriations related to the European Globalisation
Adjustment Fund (EGF) with an update of the level of implementation of
the maximum annual amount set for the special instrument in the
financial year. The Council invites the Commission to extend this good
practice to all the upcoming proposals involving the mobilisation of
special instruments (i.e. Emergency Aid Reserve, European Union
Solidarity Fund and Flexibility Instrument), also integrating recoveries
and amounts unused from previous years when applicable.
The
Council underlines that high quality programme statements and timely
financial information on spending proposals are crucial for the European
Parliament and the Council to establish, confirm or modify budgetary
priorities. Programme statements should, in particular, focus on
performance information and ways to improve it, including the results
achieved, the justification for the level of appropriations requested,
and on the added value of EU activities. This analysis should be clearly
linked to the relevant budget lines in order to support the budgetary
decision-making process.
Interinstitutional cooperation during the budgetary procedure
The Council
encourages all institutions to collaborate efficiently and
constructively, allowing for a smooth budgetary procedure and the
establishment of the budget for 2017 within the deadlines set by the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and in line with
the provisions of the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary
discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial
management (IIA)[7].
The
Council stresses the need to preserve the annual character of the
budgetary procedure and to avoid discussions on issues not directly
linked to the annual budget negotiations. It recalls that the purpose of
the Conciliation Committee, convened in respect of Article 314 TFEU, is
to establish the budget for 2017.
Furthermore,
the Council invites the Commission to ensure the timely and equal
access to transparent and objective information and documents at all the
stages of the conciliation negotiations.
Administrative expenditure
In
the context of fiscal consolidation in Member States, national
administrations are obliged to optimise the use of limited resources.
There is also a need for rationalisation of EU's administrative
expenditure. Therefore, the Council urges all institutions,
bodies and agencies to reduce or freeze their administrative expenditure
as much as possible and to request financing only for justified needs.
The
Council calls on every institution and EU body to timely provide the
Commission with clear, comprehensive and consolidated information of
their administrative expenditure. In line with the Financial Regulation,
the Commission shall attach to the draft budget the documents allowing
the European Parliament and the Council to evaluate the situation and
take well-founded decisions on the allocation and use of resources. Due
attention should be paid to the comprehensibility and comparability over
time and between institutions of the information provided.
The
Council recalls that 2017 is the last year to comply with the target,
as stated in Point 27 of the IIA, to progressively reduce by 5 % the
staff in all institutions, bodies and agencies between 2013 and 2017. In
this context, the Council invites all institutions, bodies and agencies
to appropriately report on the evolution of their staffing reductions,
including contract staff. Likewise, the Council invites the Commission
to consolidate all data received in the form of a comprehensive table
and to monitor the implementation of the 5 % target. Finally, the
Council invites the Commission to start the assessment of the outcome of
this exercise in order to draw lessons for the future.
Decentralised agencies
While recognising the multiannual character of the actions carried out by some decentralised agencies, the Council
recalls that over-budgeting has often led to a substantial and
unjustified level of carry‑overs. It reiterates the importance of
keeping their funding under firm control and limiting it only to
substantiated needs. The Council calls on the Commission, when
establishing its draft budget for 2017, to continue taking into account
unused appropriations and excessive accumulated cash-balances in order
to bring down their annual surpluses. It also urges the Commission to
carefully check, and if necessary revise, the requests for funds and
posts proposed by the agencies taking into account past implementation,
vacancy rates, as well as the compliance with the 5 % staff reduction
target.
The
Council expects the Commission to continue providing the European
Parliament and the Council with a comprehensive picture concerning
agencies, including their building policy, together with the draft
budget for 2017. In this context, the Council takes note of the works of
the interinstitutional working group aiming at closer and more
permanent scrutiny on the development of decentralised agencies.
Conclusion
The Council
considers that the EU budget should provide resources contributing to
mitigate the negative effects of the current economic and social
situation, notably by leveraging productive investments and providing
the appropriate resources to boost growth and jobs and effectively
responding to current and forthcoming challenges, inter alia relating to
migration. It underlines that an accurate and accountable use of Union
resources is one of the essential elements to reinforce the trust of EU
citizens.
The
Council will support a realistic budget for 2017, striking the right
balance between fiscal prudence and new investments conducive to growth
and jobs. It underlines that a timely, predictable, transparent and
accurate assessment of needs based on comprehensive budgetary
information is an essential tool to reach this objective.
The
Council reiterates the need to leave sufficient margins under the
ceilings in order to be able to deal with unforeseen circumstances while
providing an adequate level of funding and respecting the commitments
already made. Moreover, the Council emphasises the importance of keeping
amending budgets to a minimum and providing reliable and precise
forecasts of revenue, allowing Member States to assess in a timely
manner their expected contributions to the EU budget.
The
Council reiterates the great importance it attaches to these guidelines
and expects them to be duly taken into account when preparing the draft
budget for 2017.
These guidelines will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Commission, as well as to the other institutions.
[1]
As shown in the graph contained in the Annex, the provisional
implementation of payment appropriations in 2015 was very close to the
level of payment appropriations initially included in the voted budget.
[2]
Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying
down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020
(OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.884).
[3]
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the
general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1).
[4]
According to the Commission's implementation report of 11 January 2016,
the level of Commission's outstanding commitments (RAL) amounted to
EUR 217 billion at the end of 2015.
[5]
According to the Commission's State of execution of interim payments
and submission of payment applications for heading 1b (programmes
2007-2013) of 20 January 2016, the level of unpaid payment applications
amounted to EUR 8.2 billion at the end of 2015 whereas it was
EUR 24.7 billion at the end of 2014.
[6] Joint statement on a payment plan 2015-2016 (Doc. 9115/15).
[7]
Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European
Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on
cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management
(OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1).
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